Contents

Landscape

A u-shaped valley lined with 1000-meter granite walls and peaks. Rivers and streams form waterfalls and pools throughout the valley.

Flora and fauna

The huge and rare alerce trees should be on your list to check out.

Climate

This area receives a huge amount of rain every year. The best time and dryest, however, is January through mid March. The weather can be good from December to the end of March.

Fees/Permits

There are no entree fees or permits needed.

Getting There

If you are heading to Valle Cochamó from Santiago (Chile) or Bariloche (Argentina), you must get to Puerto Montt. Once you arrive to Puerto Montt, there are three buses daily to the town of Cochamó or Cochamó-River bridge. You can also utilise the town of Puerto Varas as a starting point. It has several travel agencies and the local bus service passes through here also.

The trailhead is located 8 kilometers up river following a gravel road. It's possible to hire a car in town to drop you off at road's end where the trail begins.

At the end of the road or trailhead, cross a small bridge and pass through a gate. From that point, hiking into the valley takes four to five hours. The trail is well marked and never crosses the Cochamó River. The hiking is relatively easy except for crossing through some trenches, pools and streams, which can become harder to cross when it rains. Water proof hiking boots are highly recommended. Gaitors help significantly on rainy days. Continue to La Junta River, the center of activities and accommodation in the valley.

See

Granite peaks, waterfalls, huge alerce trees and much more.

Do

Rock Climbing - Big Walls Thousand meter granite walls border the valley along the Cochamó River. Valle Cochamó's rock provides route potential beyond the imagination. The area has already become a world class climbing destination, with first ascents from people from almost every continent on the globe. If you're into long routes, sport routes, bouldering, establishing new routes or just hanging in a gorgeous landscape, Valle Cochamó is one of South America's best. Chekout the route info at Checkout the trail info at Cochamo.com/climbing and at Escalando.cl.

Rock Climbing - cragging. Sport climbing and cragging exist throughout the valley's basen, including the overhanging Pared Seca which stays dry when it rains.

Trekking Most visitors come to Cochamo to trek the four to six hours into La Junta, the heart of Valle Cochamo. From there, many day hikes reach spectacular peaks, waterfalls and 3000-year-old alerce trees. The main trail continues all the way to Argentina passing a rock arch, lakes and mountain passes. Checkout the trail info at Cochamo.com/trekking.

Horse trekking and trails Traversing the valley on horseback provides an unsurpassed opportunity to experience the ancient Valdivian rainforest, enabling access to hard to reach places. Multi-day trips can include stays with mountain homesteaders, and a taste of Chilean culture. You will mostly use the centuries-old track carved out by Jesuits, bandits (including, reportedly, Butch and Sundance!) and still used by the huasos today.

Natural waterslide. La Junta River offers an amazing natural waterslide. Great videos are available at Cochamo.com.

Eat & Drink

Lodging

In La Junta area, you can stay in bunks or get a private room at the Refugio Cochamó. More info at Cochamo.com/lodging. You can also stay at Campo Aventura, which has two lodges -- one at the river mouth, near Cochamo village, and the other up in the La Junta area.